


From Across The Room

by CanDanAndPhilNot (enbycalhoun)



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - High School, M/M, One Shot, Self-Esteem Issues, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:46:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21878335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enbycalhoun/pseuds/CanDanAndPhilNot
Summary: Phil sees the new kid, Dan, sitting alone at lunch and has been trying to work up the courage to go talk to him.
Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Comments: 12
Kudos: 38





	From Across The Room

Straight brown hair falls over his brown eyes filled with what Phil can only describe as mild annoyance. It had been a week since Phil first saw this fresh new face sulking through the halls, but it seems longer than that. Probably because for the past week, Phil had run through several, maybe hundreds of different scenarios of how this would happen. 

It started off the same every time though. Somehow, Phil would find the courage to stand up from his rickety old chair on his side of the lunch room, pick up his plastic blue tray filled with whatever garbage the school decided was food, and walk over to the almost empty table where this new boy sat. 

In the more optimistic fantasies, Phil would smile, and with the confidence of a lion stalking its prey, introduce himself. This boy would do the same and they would live happily ever after. But in Phil's rubbish bin of a mind, there would be ones where his sweaty palms fuddled with his own tray, it would go flying and land on the boy, ruining everything that was, and could ever be. 

In the most drastic scenario, Phil would somehow, with his overactive imagination and tendencies to hurt everyone he came in contact with, would impale the boy with a kebab skewer. Even though the school never served kebabs. Sometimes Phil would dream the worst, other times he had so much hope. There were dreams that ended with him and the unnamed boy sitting in rocking chairs on a porch watching pedestrians in a future that even Phil's creative genius couldn’t imagine would be like. 

He’s pretending to read. Some book that was assigned in class today. He isn’t reading anything, in fact he just opened it to a random page. Over the paperback, Phil’s glancing at the boy, sitting by himself as usual. His thin arms propping his chin up as he picked precariously at his food. Phil doesn't blame him for not eating it. He’s doing the same thing. 

Why couldn’t he just go over there and say something? It’s not like either of them have friends. They both have the same long fringe hiding half their face, the same brightly colored wristbands they refuse to cut off from events over the summer, and beaded ones and gel ones and whatever ones would hide their skin just a bit more. Everything down to their dirty Vans is the same, even how they both sit alone, heads down as if their food is the most interesting thing in the room. Most times it is. Who needed friends when you had your own self loathing thoughts and defensive walls that would ward off anyone who wanted to try to be friends anyway?

But this boy is different. He isn't the cocky jocks or selfish high maintenance, bratty girls who acted like they were being nice just to make a joke out of you in the long run. There is recognition when Phil looks at him. As if he knows exactly what Phil is going through. Maybe it was the matching My Chemical Romance shirts they had worn the other day. But maybe it wasn’t. Maybe there is actually something there. The only way Phil would know is if he got up off his ass and just introduced himself. 

Phil's glued to his seat. How could he go talk to this boy? He is gorgeous and Phil, well Phil is the same nerdy kid with too much useless information that literally no one cared about. At least that’s what everyone told him. Why would this boy be different? Why would this boy care about the immense amount of jellyfish facts that Phil was dying to share with someone because  _ everyone  _ should know how cool jelly fish are? 

Phil flips a page and looks up. His eyes meet those same, self loathing eyes but in a dark shade of brown that makes his stomach do summersaults. This was it. Phil tucks his book away in his pack, slings it over his shoulder and picks his tray up. The scenario always started off the same. Phil has the courage in his chest and his palms are sweating and the tray feels anything but secure in his hands, but he walks across the room, eyes staying straight ahead as to not attract any unwanted attention. 

“Hi,” Phil says in a voice that he never imagined in his day dreams. This one was quiet and unsure and damn it all, he was fucking it up already. 

The boy looks up, “Hi?” 

Phil knows that voice. He’s wondering if Phil is here to make fun of him like the rest of the school already did this week.    
  


“Can I sit here?” Why did he have to be so anxious? Why couldn’t he be the hero like he imagined? Why couldn’t he say something cool that actually helped his case? 

“Uh, sure.” The boy flicks his fringe so it covers his face just a bit more and Phil wishes he didn’t do that, because somehow in a week this boy has already made Phil dream about that face more times than he would willingly admit. 

Phil sits. He takes his book back out and thinks he’s going to just sit here in silence and maybe just make the boy uncomfortable, even though if Phil spoke, he would make the boy uncomfortable anyways so what was the point in any of this?

“I’m Phil.”

“I know.”

Somehow the vibrations of this boy's voice goes straight to Phil's stomach and he’s not sure if he’s made the right decision. 

“How do you know who I am?” 

“Heard one of these twats over here make fun of you,” the boy points to the table beside them, ones filled with those jocks and girls who pretend to be nice at the expense of a joke. 

Phil stays quiet. They have every right to make fun of him. He knows this. 

“They're arses, y'know?” The boy says. 

“They’re not wrong.”

“I think you look cool. I don’t even know why you’re over here talking to me.” 

“I think  _ you _ look cool.” Phil says, not looking at the boy. 

“Mate, trust me I’m anything but cool.”

“Well in that case, you might be interested in knowing that jelly fish don’t have a brain. Just like those guys.”

For the first time the boy laughs, and the sound sends shivers down Phil's spine. Phil looks over at the boy and his eyes don’t look quite as annoyed and his smile brings out a dimple in his cheek that Phil wants to poke, but doesn’t because he won’t do anything to stop whatever he did to make such a beautiful human somehow look and sound even more heavenly. 

The bell rings and Phil's gut feels like someone just ripped it right out of his body. So much for getting to know this guy. 

“Do you mind if I sit here tomorrow?” Phil asks, standing up with his tray. 

“Uh, yeah. Sure, that would be cool.” 

“Okay, umm, see you tomorrow then?” 

“Yeah, well, I’m Dan by the way.” 

“Nice to meet you, Dan.”

Phil walks away before he can do anything more to embarrass himself. How many times had he imagined that moment and none of those midday day dreams could live up to how those brown eyes looked so close up, and how Dan's laugh was better than any pop punk guitar riff. Somehow, Dan made Phil excited to come to school the next day. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you like this little one shot. I didn't work too hard on this lmao but thanks to @patchworklove for being my beta and looking over this please go check his work out! 
> 
> Comments and kudos are appreciated ❤️


End file.
